Is there anything kids love more than a birthday party? For 4-year-old Callie, it’s a chance to use her imagination and practice standing, walking, squatting and moving independently. As she plans a fictitious birthday party for a frog beany toy at the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Rehabilitation Center for outpatient physical therapy and occupational therapy in St. Petersburg, Florida, sometimes Callie forgets she’s taking part in a very intensive physical and occupational therapy program. She’s climbing up steps to decorate a makeshift cake and bending down to attach stickers to a party chair. 

“You have to be creative and play into what they like in the moment, which can change very quickly,” explains pediatric physical therapist Allie Benson.

Callie is taking part in the TheraSuit Method Intensive Program (TMIP) where she meets with Benson and a handful of occupational therapists, including Stephanie Hadley. The program session lasts three weeks and Callie and her mom, Chelsey, are here five days a week, for three hours a day. 

“It’s only three weeks long, but we see years’ worth of progress in three weeks,” Benson explains. 

Chelsey can’t believe the progress her daughter is making. 

“From where she’s come three weeks ago to now is such a big improvement. She is walking great distances that we never would have thought could even happen before,” Chelsey says. 

When Callie came in for an initial evaluation, she could walk about 10 steps unassisted. With the help of the Johns Hopkins All Children’s program, she’s walking an entire hallway and is growing more confident by the day.

Callie’s Journey to Physical Therapy

Callie’s journey to outpatient therapy was the result of an extremely rare complication. In January 2023, then 2-year-old Callie was diagnosed with ependymoma, a rare tumor that originates in the ependymal cells of the brain and spinal cord. Doctors at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital removed the tumor just a few days after Callie’s diagnosis. 

Claudia Lukas, PA-C, in the hospital’s Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute says the surgery was successful and Callie was referred to another hospital for radiation therapy, which is standard of care for post-surgery treatment. 

“She was doing well. She was walking. She was her normal 2-year-old self at the time, but in July 2023, she woke up one morning and stopped walking,” Chelsey remembers.

Doctors determined Callie had transverse myelitis, a serious but very rare complication of radiation, that leads to inflammation of one section of the spinal cord damaging the myelin sheath that insulates nerve cells. This disrupts the messages the spinal cord sends throughout the body, causing symptoms like pain, weakness, paralysis, and bladder or bowel problems.

Chelsey immediately sought help for daughter, getting Callie into at-home physical therapy and treatment that included six months of steroids.

In November 2024, Callie came into Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for serial casting, a procedure that uses fiberglass casts to improve range of motion. That’s where the family first met Benson, the physical therapist. “We determined she had enough range of motion, but she needed to be in a brace to keep the range in her ankle,” Benson explains. “We actually just referred her out for bracing, but while they were here, Chelsey told me her daughter’s story, and I mentioned I had another patient with a similar condition who had major successes with the physical therapy programs we have.” 

A few weeks later, Chelsey and Callie came to an equipment clinic to obtain a walker. 

Benson just happened to be filling in for another physical therapist at the clinic. She remembered Callie and made it her mission to find an open spot for her in the TheraSuit program. “The stars seemed to align and it was sort of fortuitous that we were able to get Callie in,” Benson says. 

The Program

The program, which is known to accelerate functional progress using a canvas suit with bungee-like cords and a universal exercise cage, aims to help children learn correct patterns of movement by strengthening muscles and improving independence. 

“It’s almost like a continuous tapping on your muscle to remind you to use it,” Benson explains. “The whole point is you learn to do something using the right muscles. You build a program in your head to walk and think these are the muscles I’m going to turn on to be able to walk and it really works because of the repetition and the amount of time we have to spend with each kid.”

The program combines both occupational and physical therapy and is so popular that it often has a wait list around 100 children. 

Hadley, the occupational therapist, says the improvements they see aren’t just physical. “The intensive model of therapy is really up and coming, and we are hoping to get more research to support it because we really see that it works for these kids,” she says. “We see a big jump in other things too — language, cognition, their self-care skills. So, in this program we see how it puts all the pieces together.”

Chelsey couldn’t wait to get her daughter started. “Allie mentioned this wonderful program and said we are pretty confident that by the end of this you’ll see a big improvement from what you saw before,” Chelsey remembers. 

Gearing Up for Pre-K

Callie is now 4-years-old and is getting ready for some big milestones in her life. “We have a big year coming up where she goes into pre-kindergarten, and we want her to feel safe and welcomed around her peers. She is going into a classroom where everyone else is walking so our main goal is for her to feel comfortable,” Chelsey says.

As she wraps up the TheraSuit program, that goal is more attainable.

Callie is walking longer distances than ever before. She’s bending down and picking up toys with confidence. Although she sometimes loses her balance when walking without her walker, she is quick to get up and try again. 

“When Callie first started our program, as soon as she was aware that she wasn’t being held, she would throw herself onto the floor. Now she is standing, squatting down to the floor, walking between things,” Benson says. “It is really rare to have this type of spinal cord injury that you have the rest of your life. But she has made so much progress and she is not going to let it hold her back.”

Chelsey has loved watching her daughter grow and thrive as she partakes in the intense physical therapy program. She knows Callie is pushing herself to the limits, but she’s also having fun. “The physical and occupational therapists … they all love her. The care and compassion they give Callie is beyond anything I would expect. They treat her as their own,” she says. “I know I have to give Callie independence. She has to learn mommy is not always going to be there. Daddy is not always going to be there but she’s come so far,” Chelsey says as her eyes well up with tears. “We can’t wait until the day she can run into our arms. She’s getting so much closer to that happening.”

An Improved Space

Callie and other pediatric patients now have more space than ever before to practice new skills. Johns Hopkins All Children’s Outpatient Physical, Occupational and Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine moved into a 30,000-square-foot space in Bayfront Medical Plaza, at 603 Seventh Ave. S., in late January 2025.

The new Johns Hopkins All Children’s Rehabilitation Center has nearly double the space, opening up more room for additional patients and new programs to enhance the patient and family experience. 

The new space even has a huge track to practice adaptive biking skills. 

“It’s like a big playground. It’s definitely catered to the kids. They come in. They see everything and they’re so excited,” Chelsey says. 

The Sky Is the Limit

Benson is impressed by the progress Callie was able to make during the three-week program. Callie is now less reliant on her walker and showing incredible signs of independence.

“I think ultimately she’s going to be able to do anything she wants to do and be anything she wants to be,” Benson says. “She may have some struggles keeping up with long distances. Going to theme parks with her friends in the future, she may have to take a cane or some crutches just to make it through the entire day, but really she seems unstoppable after these last three weeks.”

Chelsey agrees, adding it was absolutely worth the time and effort. She has already signed Callie up for another spot in the program, even though the family is considering a long-distance move. 

“I would do this over and over again as many times as I could,” she adds. “We are already on a wait list for next year because it’s a good everyday activity for her to exercise the muscles. I would drive wherever I need to go to make sure she has this. It’s been amazing to see her progress.”